


Painful Memories

by genderqueer_turtle



Series: Fair Game One Shots [11]
Category: RWBY
Genre: M/M, TW: suicidal thoughts, tw: abuse, tw: depression
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-16
Updated: 2020-04-16
Packaged: 2021-03-01 20:47:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,784
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23683369
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/genderqueer_turtle/pseuds/genderqueer_turtle
Summary: Clover relieves some painful memories when he sees his ex.
Relationships: Qrow Branwen/Clover Ebi
Series: Fair Game One Shots [11]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1686706
Kudos: 33





	Painful Memories

**Author's Note:**

> Warnings: mentions abuse, depression, and suicidal thoughts. Please take care of yourself.   
> Clover's POV

Many years ago, when I was a fresh, young huntsman, I fell in love. This man was another huntsman, a few years older than me. I thought that he was the most amazing person ever, but looking back, I know that I was wrong. 

His name as Stephan, and we had dated for four years. I had followed him around, watching him train and work, copying his fighting style for the longest time. Not long after we had started dating, I had moved in with him. That was where the relationship began to turn sour.

Almost every day, he would yell at me, call me dumb or weak, tell me that I was nothing. He would verbally abuse me, tearing me down and making me feel useless. I believed everything he told me, and became extremely depressed and even suicidal. I wanted to die, he told me I should die. There were a few times he would even smack me when he was angry, or drunk. 

I should have left, I could have walked out that door at any moment. But I didn't. I thought I could help him, that we were truly meant to be together. It didn't help that he made a habit of telling me I was useless and nothing without him. He would tell me that without his guidance, I would never be a great huntsman. 

Finally, my friends, who Stephan had pulled me away from, reached out and convinced me to leave. But by then the damage was already done. I was broken. It took almost twice the amount of time to rebuild my self confidence as it took to shatter it.

I never realized that traumatic situations, like my relationship with Stephan, would leave lasting marks. I had trained myself to not be afraid of being hit, or else I would be a terrible huntsman. But I could never get over the fear and pain that came with being yelled at. Luckily, no one ever had a reason to yell at me.

Now, I am a much better, happier person. I work as the leader of the Ace Ops, I have great coworkers and friends, and I have an amazing boyfriend.

Qrow, my boyfriend, struggles with his own self confidence. All his life, he has been used, and hurt by the people he loved and trusted. It hurt me to watch him relive that pain some days, but I never told him about my own pain. I refused to burden him with my past problems. Besides, those problems didn't affect me today, or that's what I thought.

~

Today, Qrow was in a bad mood. When I talked to his nieces, they told me that this was normal and he was probably depressed. They said that they gave him space, but kept a close eye on him to make sure he didn't do anything dumb. They said that you usually drinks himself numb when he feels this way, but since he hasn't drunken anything in a while, this would be a completely new experience for him. I decided that I would keep a close eye on my boyfriend as well. 

For most of the day, I gave him space. But in the evening, I realized that he hadn't eaten anything all day, so I went to offer him dinner. 

"You need to eat something sweetie. Please."

"Clover, I'm not in the mood. Just leave me alone," he said, burying his face in the pillow. I sat down next to him and placed my hand on his back, trying to be supportive.

"Come on Qrow."

"CAN'T YOU JUST LEAVE ME ALONE FOR ONCE AND STOP BEING SO CLINGY?" Qrow shouted. This was the first time I had ever heard him raise his voice. the shock made me step back a few steps. Painful memories flooded my mind, reminding me of a time where I was yelled at regularly. Where Stephan would tell me that I was clingy and that I needed him. 

Qrow looked up, regret written all over his face. "Clover, babe, I'm so sorry. I don't know why I yelled. I'm not feeling myself and you had to put up with me, I'm really sorry."

"No, no, it's fine. I'll give you your space now," I said, headed out the door. Of course Qrow wouldn't know that I couldn't handle being yelled at, I had never told him. But that didn't make it hurt any less. 

I headed to the job board, thinking that if I worked, I could forget this whole situation. I found a job that would be quick, but tough enough to make me forget. It was a search and rescue mission for a team of huntsmen that were trapped in the tundra while on a mission of their own. I grabbed a few huntsmen, including Marrow, to join me and we headed out. 

The drive was relatively quiet. I sat in the back and kept to myself, trying to think of anything but the past. Finally we reached our destination and I jumped out into the wind and snow.

"Are you part of the team we were sent to pick up?" Marrow shouted to a huntsman that had run over to greet us. 

"Yes! Thank god you're here. Our leader is injured and our vehicle broke down. We were barely able to get signal out here when we asked for support. Let me show you where the rest of my team is." He led us to a cave, where they were safe from the weather. As I entered the cave, I saw a face that I never thought I would see again.

"Clover? Is that really you?" Stephan asked, laying on the ground, his leg wrapped up. He was the leader who was injured. "Wow, look at you. An Ace Op."

Between Qrow shouting at me and seeing Stephan again, today was not a good day. But I told myself that he had no power over me anymore, I could get through this mission and forget all about today. 

"Marrow, help their leader get into the car. I'll make sure everything in here is okay," I ordered. Just because I had to finish this mission didn't mean I had to talk to Stephan. I did a quick check up on the other huntsmen we were picking up then headed back to the vehicle. 

All the seats up front were taken, so I had to sit in the back with Stephan. I tried to ignore him, but he obviously had different plans.

"So, how are you Clover? You seem to be doing pretty well career-wise, but have you found anyone? I know it must be hard to find someone and have something as amazing as what we had." I rolled my eyes. I really wanted to yell at him, slap him, make him realize how much pain he caused me. 

"So, no boyfriend?" He continued to push. His other teammates seemed to all have fallen asleep by now, so it was basically just the two of us. He placed his hand on my thigh and I pulled away. I couldn't take it.

"Yes, I have a boyfriend. And he is the most amazing person I have ever met. Better than you, way better," I snapped.

This made him angry. My losing my temper was a rookie mistake. "Better than me. I doubt it." I noticed that he moved his hand as if to smack me but then thought better of it. I flinched and stood up. 

"Marrow, stop the car." I said. Marrow looked back, confused. The car stopped and I hopped out. Marrow joined me outside.

"What wrong Clover?" 

"You guys go on ahead. I'm going to stay here. Once you get back, send a vehicle to pick me up please," I commanded, trying to keep myself together. 

"May I ask why?"

"I can't sit in that car. Just do what you are told." Marrow nodded, hopped back in the car, and told the driver to keep going. I turned and headed towards the cave. I would just wait.

I sat down in the cave, and couldn't stop myself. I had to cry. So many painful memories in one day, this shouldn't be possible. Reliving the past made me feel weak, weaker than I have felt in a long time. 

About an hour later, my tears were practically all spent. I heard the crunching of footsteps and trying to make myself look presentable. But before I could stand up, I felt someone wrap their arms around me. I knew exactly who it was, my boyfriend Qrow. Him being here made me cry more, though I thought that I had run out of tears. He just sat next to me, arms wrapped around me. I felt him kiss my forehead and stroke my hair, letting me know that he was here.

"Clover, I'm sorry for this morning. I was a mess and I can't forgive myself for taking it out on you. I was a terrible boyfriend." 

"No, you are the best boyfriend I have ever had." He lifted my chin so that he could see my face.

"Can I ask you what is wrong? Is there anyway I could help?" Worry clouded his face. Most of the time, I worried about him, it was strange for him to worry about me.

"You can sit here and listen. And hold me." I said, blushing slightly. Qrow chuckled and pulled me onto his lap.

"Okay, I'm listening." He said, wrapping his arms around me again.

I took a deep breath and told him everything. Right there in the cave. I told him about how I idolized Stephan, how we started dating, how he convinced me to stop hanging out with my friends and move in with him. I told him about how those were the worst four years of my life. I even told him about how I couldn't stand being yelled at because of the memories. Then I told him about seeing Stephan again and the car ride. 

When I was done, Qrow was seething with anger. "Come on, let's go home." He said. He walked with me to car, brooding but continuing to make sure I was okay.

When we got back to Atlas, he left me to go get food. When he came back, he looked slightly bruised and ruffed up, but he was smiling. 

"What did you do?" I asked, worried that he had gone and gotten himself into trouble.

"Oh, just talked with your ex. Dude's definitely not the nicest guy there is. Thought he should know what I thought of him." 

"I love you," I said. 

"I love you too."

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this after a friend sent me this prompt she thought of. It took me a while to write because I felt terrible for Clover and I would never wish something like this upon anyone.   
> But if you've read this far, I'd like to thank your for reading and taking care of yourself. :)  
> Thank you so much!


End file.
